Chapter Text
It was time.
Already, the Mirror Chamber was packed with well wishing students, many going home for the end of the year. Slowly, the students would be ushered through, and sent back to their homes.
Azul and his cohorts, meanwhile, were not with them.
Usually, they could be found lingering among the students, but ultimately not going home. The seas were far too cold at that time of year, and as such were often frozen over.
But they would be going places this time.
Just not home.
-
"Floyd. You have everything packed up?"
"Yeah, yeah. I checked three times, already, relax, Jade."
"Hmhm. I don't know what you mean, Floyd…"
Jade had to fight to keep his facade of calm happiness up. Right now, in his heart of hearts, he was shaking and gleefully awaiting their summons to the Mirror Chamber. It was… something he was not used to, as he usually kept his emotions deeply under wraps.
But the mere idea of being one of the first outsiders to explore not only a mysterious mountain range… as well as being one of the first in decades, maybe centuries to even properly document it… but the subsequent capital city at the heart of it all...
His heart was fit to burst!
So many undiscovered species of mushroom, so many trails he could navigate and map out… and he alone would carry that knowledge!
Such bliss!
The pair would look up as there was a knock on the door.
"Jade. Floyd." It was Azul. "Tusya has come to fetch us. And…" he sighed. "They aren't alone."
"Oh? What d'ya mean?"
"It seems they went and rounded up everyone in our party ahead of time."
-
Indeed, Tusya had done that.
Not only was Tusya there with Vil and Rook, but Malleus and his retainers were sat there as well. Tusya was chatting away with Malleus, who would merely speak softly and smile at their little quips. Lilia was speaking with Vil and Rook, and Sebek and Silver… just looked uncomfortable.
It was clear that everyone in Octavinelle house was giving Malleus a wide berth, as the ones staying behind were prepping the lounge for the winter season…
"Frogfishie!" Floyd had called, rushing past Azul… and freezing when he saw that Tusya was huddled up against Malleus. "a-ah… sea slug…"
"Floyd!" Tusya would hop up and rush over, barreling into the still startled eel mer. "Hey! Are you excited? I'm so excited! I cannot WAIT for you to meet Dedko! Oh man? He's gonna LOVE you!"
Malleus would stand up from his seat.
Everyone but Tusya paused and glanced over.
The Diasomnia housewarden would step over, slowly blinking as he approached the pair. "Ah. Yes. Floyd Leech. Tusya has told me much about you."
"Oh! Hey! Malleus, this is Floyd, Floyd, this is Malleus!" Tusya, completely oblivious to the tension in the room, introduced the pair.
"Charmed." Malleus would say, eyes darting to give Floyd a once over. Even as he said that, the stiff line of his mouth betrayed no real emotion. "Tusya has mentioned you met over a spat over a sandwich…?"
"Ehe… yeah." Floyd would say, still stiff and nervous as he drew Tusya in closer to his chest. "Frogfishie and I, we're pals because of that."
"Indeed. Tusya and I are friends as well." Malleus would say, the corner of his mouth quirking up into the vaguest shape of a smile.
The uncomfortable silence and possibly deadly staredown between everyone involved was lost on Tusya.
"Well I guess that means you guys are friends now too!" The Freshman would say, looking between them. "Malleus, you gotta help me show Floyd around, okay? I wanna make sure you all have fun on this trip."
"Hmmm. Very well then." Malleus would furrow his brow slightly as he smiled and nodded. "If you so wish it, Tusya. Perhaps we can… Invite him along on our little trips around Mt Barren."
"Y-yeah. I'd like that!" Floyd would reply, nodding as he hesitantly let go of Tusya. "I guess we're friends now, sea slug?"
"Sea slug…?"
"Everyone gets a nickname. You remind me of a nudibranch, so yours is sea slug."
"I see…"
"Hey, guys?" Tusya would interrupt. "Once you guys are done chatting, I think it's about time we headed to the Mirror chamber. Can't keep the welcome wagon waiting!"
-
It would not take long for the luggage to be taken to the Mirror Chamber. Already, it had been vacated and prepared for the new destination… Crowley was currently muttering to himself as he waved his wand to include this new, untraveled to destination…
"And… done." The headmage would sigh, letting his shoulders sag. "That should do it."
"Headmage!" Tusya would speak up, making Crowley turn. "We're all here and ready to go! Do you wanna explain to them what's happening? Or should I do it?"
"Aha, you have done enough, Illborne." Crowley replied, smiling nervously. "Allow me."
"AHEM." Crowley would step up to the group, saying, "welcome to the first of hopefully many trips to this new, unexplored land. I fully expect you all to be on your best behavior, as your actions will color the opinion of the Mountain's residents of not only our school, but also the rest of the magical population!"
"As per the request of Mayor Radomir, you will be sent to a checkpoint on the outskirts of the Ink Cap Mountains. From there, your identities will be verified before being allowed through to the next mirror." Crowley explained. "And this is very important, so listen up!"
"All mirrors in this region leading out past the borders, unless marked, are ONE WAY. So please ensure you have everything you require on your person before traveling through them."
"Any questions?" Crowley would ask, looking around at the gathered group.
Silence.
"Good! Malleus, since you are familiar with this, would you like to go first?" Crowley asked.
"Ah! No! Silver and I shall be taking the first steps through the mirror!" Sebek piped up. "It would not do for us NOT to inspect the checkpoint before we go!"
"Erm. Very well, Zigvolt. You and your classmate may enter first."
The group would slowly filter through, with Lilia and Malleus going in after their guards, then Vil and Rook after them… finally, the octavinelle trio would step through the mirror…
-
They were in a ramshackle old hut, a far cry from the decadent room they had just been in. The floors creaked underfoot, as the trio stepped out into the freezing cold. Small lights hung from the ceiling, as the wind outside blew in through cracks in the walls. The place was home to a small coal stove and a desk where a strange hunched over goblin like man was sat. He had pale grey skin, yellow eyes, bat like ears and a small furlined coat, and he stared the trio down as they stumbled out of the mirror.
"Brrrr!" Floyd would shake himself as he pulled his jacket closer to his body. "Cold!"
Tusya had warned them about the cold. But… it seemed that Floyd had not taken them seriously.
"Ahem." The door man would cough. "Can I see your passes, gentlymen? I'm sure you folk would LOVE to get someplace warmer."
"Oh! Yes of course." Azul and Jade would produce all three passes… Jade had not trusted Floyd with his, and had confiscated them as soon as he physically could.
The goblin looking fellow would squint, looking between the boys and their photos… "..." he finally gave a nod and took out a rubber stamp. All three passes would get a stamp, and then were handed back.
"You gentlymen behave yonselves." The goblin said, waving them towards a door.
"Thank you, sir." Azul would do most of the talking, lest Floyd do something to offend…
The trio would go out into the cold, where they stood out in a snowy field. Houses and shops made of wood and stone were set up all around the area, making a makeshift town. Traders were coming and going between the buildings, braving the chill of the wind around them. To the north, a large stone and wood wall had been erected, with trees peeking out above them.
Among the humans and beastmen were centaurs. Their large equine bodies stood out as they patrolled, blankets and armor covering their back halves. They carried long polearms, with a couple even carrying bows and crossbows along their backs…
The trio was ushered across by a pair of heavier set draft horse looking guards, over to another building. This one appeared marginally more tended to, with a fresh coat of paint decorating the exterior. Malleus, Vil, and the others lingered inside…
"Heyyyyy! Wait for me!"
Tusya would come sprinting out from the building they'd just exited, startling the centaurs into drawing their bows.
"Guys! Guys I'm here! Sorry about that!"
The little monster was beaming, nodding at the guards who gruffly lowered their bows and herded Tusya in with the trio. "Sorry, Crowley wanted to have a word with me before I went through." Tusya would grumble. "It was mostly about how he was glad I was going to be connecting our worlds or something… I dunno, it was sappy."
"Hee~ the Headmage likes to hear himself talk." Floyd replied. "Is that all he wanted?"
"I guess? It was weird and it held me up."
"Focus, you two. Let's go." Azul would snap at them, as they were allowed inside the building.
The interior was decently decorated, with actual stone tile floors, paintings, and some comfortable couches. The group would look up as Azul and his gang came in from the cold…
"Alright, that's the last of them."
A voice around knee level sounded off.
There was a cat there. Well. A cat looking creature. It had flames coming from its ears, with a little bandana around its neck and a magestone embedded in the clasp holding it on. It was carrying a clipboard and pencil via telekinesis, and was checking off the last four names on the list it had.
The little feline swished its spade tipped tail, not looking at Azul or anyone else as it got up on the coffee table. "Alright, everyone, my name is Verd, and I'll be in charge of your… well, no, MOST of your needs during this trip. Mayor Radomir has asked me to keep an eye on you so if you need anything, I will do my very best to accommodate."
"Awwww, kitty." Floyd would chuckle. "So cute."
Verd, looked up from his clipboard and glared. "Yes, thank you." He said, scribbling something onto his clipboard as he maintained eye contact with Floyd. "ANYWAY. You all will be staying in the Mothlace Hotel, which is where all your luggage is currently waiting. We ask that you PLEASE sign in and out of the hotel guestbook if you will be going out on your own, as a precaution. We don't want to have to start guessing who or what might have taken you should you turn up missing!"
The feline would hop down as one of the horned humanoid guards opened a door to a back room. "Step lively now. Please enter the mirror one at a time, and speak to the front desk about room keys and dining times. All food and drink will be provided on site for free, but food off the property is to be paid for from your own pocket!"
"Hm." Azul chuckled. "It does look like the monster that interrupted orientation, doesn't it?"
"I beg your pardon?" Verd would look up at Azul.
"Oh, nothing. We merely had a creature that looked similar to you interrupt this year's orientation and sorting."
"...I see. And what happened to this… creature?" Verd's eyes narrowed as he started to scribble something onto the clipboard.
"We ousted them, but there have been rumors that they still linger on campus. Why?"
"I shall have to send a team to fetch them then. It sounds like a lost Pyroclaste." Verd shook their head and huffed, padding away before Azul could inquire further.
Ah yes. Tusya had mentioned the industrious species of cat that lived in this region… interesting. How had one come to find its way to Night Raven college then? How were they going to retrieve their wayward brother…?
Regardless.
The students were all filing in, one by one, vanishing into the depths of the inky dark mirror at the end of the room. Azul would gladly go next, walking through like he did with most mirrors…
And coughing as he was sent through what felt like a cloud of dense fog? Gas?
Most mirror travel was relatively instantaneous, and yet, this impeded him… he coughed and sputtered as he was sent through, the dense fog stinging his eyes as he moved forward… was this the Miasma that Tusya had mentioned before? The fog that surrounds the region?
He would stumble into the light of another building, still coughing and tearing up as he managed to get his bearings.
Azul was in a lavish, if not dusty, hotel lobby. The walls used dark wood paneling, held up with black marble pillars. The floor was a mix of dark grey marble and strange glowing tiles that helped to light up the otherwise dim room. It appeared they had been arranged in a moth shaped pattern...
Couches and tables were scattered around in clusters, almost haphazard as if the place had only been recently put together. The lights that hung above were blue and orange will-o-wisp type flames that drifted around the ceiling, blown by a breeze too high to be felt properly.
Already, Malleus' group was checking in at the front desk, manned by a masked figure who gave them all their keys. Azul would queue up behind them, and smile as the group shuffled aside. "Good afternoon. Azul Ashengrotto, housewarden of Octavinelle. I assume you have a room key for me?"
"Mmm." The stranger would nod, sliding him a key with a pretty blue stone on the keyring. "Floor 2. Next to the founder's room."
"Thank you." He would say, nodding as Floyd tumbled in from the mirror behind him, coughing and gagging. "Hmm? Floyd?"
"Ack! Hah… hah…" Floyd would lay on the floor, panting and shaking. "Bwah, that was so gross… hah… Azuuuuul…" he would get to his feet, shaking himself off as Jade stepped through, hanky over his mouth as he cleared his throat.
"Tusya will be joining us shortly." Jade would say, coughing politely and making sure Floyd was alright. "Come along Floyd."
Jade would drag Floyd along, and approach the desk. "Jade and Floyd Leech. Octavinelle students."
"Mmm." The masked man would slide over two keys, similar in look to Azul's. "Second floor. By the founder's room."
"Oh? We aren't sharing?" Jade asked, taking a key.
"No sir. The Lady of the House insisted that you two have your own suites." He said, voice soft and flat. There was a tumbling sound and a rapid succession of sneezes. "Ah. There she is."
The trio would look, seeing Tusya shaking themselves off like a dog. "Phew! I forgot how much Miasma gets into my nose!" They would trot up, between the trio. "Hey, Kep! How's my room?"
"As you left it, Tusya." The masked man replied. "It's been dusted, but otherwise left as you left it. Welcome home, Lady Tusya."
"Man! I keep tellin' ya, it's just Tusya around these guys!" Tusya would huff, rubbing the back of their neck as they signed the guestbook. "Sheesh! Now they're gonna-"
"LADY Tusya?" Azul would raise an eyebrow, taking the pen from them when they were done and signing his own name in. "I wasn't aware-"
"Aw fuck now look what you did, Kep." Tusya would grumble. "They're not gonna let me live this down."
"That you had a title."
"Fuck's sake, Azul I dont like using that title. It's so DUMB. Dedko is a MAYOR, not a Lord or something..." Tusya would huff and laugh, pulling their hair down. "But thanks Kep. I'm glad, hah…" they would blush and huff… "anyway… uh… yeah you guys are uh. Are on my floor."
"Interesting…" Jade would hum, hands on chin. "You live here?"
"Yeah?" They would say, as a few horned humanoids would grab any bags they had and carry them to the elevators. "Uh.. I wanted to live outside of Grandpa's home so he got me a room in this hotel. Eventually I uh. I sorta started helping run the place so the staff were like "oh that's Lady Tusya." So now, that's my deal. Ugh. I forgot how much of a pain it was sometimes…"
"I wasn't aware that you were so business savvy." Azul would comment, as they piled into an elevator.
"I am not! I just run the place so gramps has places for Dignitaries and stuff." They would say, as they pressed the button for the next floor. "It's mostly a high end place for visiting people that Dedko wants to keep comfortable. So I guess that includes you guys now!"
"Woooow! Frogfishie is a hotel manager! So weird, heh." Floyd would comment. "It's kinda cool though. I bet you get to kick people out for being too loud or messy."
"Ehhh if anyone's loud or messy it's me!" Tusya would snort, as the elevator shuddered and started to move up...
The second floor was the typical hotel fare, long hallway with cushy carpeting and clean white walls. Dark wood doors would line the walls, and paintings of abstractly crafted scenes were spaced out between them. One door, however, was at the end of the hall, and was covered in what looked like stickers and marker drawings.
"Yeahhh that's my room." Tusya would say. "I'm! Gonna let you guys go get unpacked and if you need anything I'll be there!" They pointed at the door and made a dash for it. It appeared they were overly eager to get back to their room…
The door would unlock and slam behind them, leaving the trio alone in the hall…
"Huh. Frogfishie sure does live in a nice place." Floyd would say after a long pause. "Anyway." He would take his key and unlock the first door on the right.
The room itself was nice and cool, with a done up four poster bed and two doors along the wall. Many of Floyd's bags were already there, at the foot of the bed. One door opened to reveal a nice clean marble bathroom, with a tub deep enough to sink into completely…
"Wow! Fancy."
Floyd would approach one of the windows overlooking the street, and gasp.
The street directly below his window were narrow, winding and a bit dimly lit even in the daylight hours. But there were many windows and doors outside, lining the walls of the buildings that towered around them. Floyd could see various human shaped beings moving around in the windows, some with horns, some with animal ears. He couldn't help but stick his head out, and took in the sights of people rushing past...
A fluttering sound made him look up, as three winged ladies fluttered past his window to land on a nearby balcony. They would manipulate the window so it opened like double doors, allowing them into a brightly lit room…
Below, a pair of teal colored beings with twisting, spiraling horns were talking and dragging bags out to garbage bins. They spoke in a high pitched, rapid fire language that Floyd could not understand...they looked like they had the same kind of masks as the front desk person, emotionless and white.
"Whoa…"
On the far end of the alley, there were bustling carts and many a horse pulling loads and buggies around… except every so often, a centaur would be pulling a buggy along…
It wasn't TOO weird to Floyd that there wouldn't be cars here. Or maybe they couldn't have cars in these narrow streets? Well. It didn't matter too much. He would pull himself back in to see that someone had slid an envelope under his door. He would pick it up and open it…
There was a glossy black card with gold trim along the edge. On the card, there appeared to be an invitation…?
You are cordially invited to attend dinner in the Mothlace Hotel's Ballroom.
8 pm sharp
Mayor Radomir looks forward to your attendance.
"....Huh." Floyd would toss the card aside, onto the dresser and flop onto the bed.
Now was his chance to just have a nice little break, some time away from his brother and Azul… he was usually stuck around them, even if it was fun… he liked to have time that was just for Floyd. To just think and relax and...
It was kinda lonely.
He would toss and turn, trying to nap and ultimately giving up as he slid off the bed.
Making sure he had his key, he would head out of the room and go towards Tusya's room. He wanted to see what it looked like!
It was unlocked, and he wasted no time barging in.
"Frogfishie! I'm here! And bored!"
It was dark.
Despite it being fully bright outside, the shades were drawn to keep all light out. The room was similar to his own, except with many more scrawled on symbols and pieces of paper plastered onto the scratched up walls. Piles of books and stuffed toys were kept in the corners, some torn apart… the bed was fashioned into a crude nest, with fresh pillows and bedding arranged on the large mattress…
"Frogfishie? Are you in here?" Floyd called, looking around. The light from the hall illuminated the scratched up walls, as well as dark wood dresser and armoire crammed in the corner… surprisingly, despite the room being in disarray, there weren't many things on the floor as far as debris. "Weird. I thought I saw them come in here…?"
"Floyd."
"Frogfishie?'
"You should have knocked first… I didn't have a chance to change…"
"Oh! That's fine. I wanted to come play with you! It's kinda boring by myself…"
"I don't think that's a good idea."
"Huh? Why not? I wanna play with ya!"
"Uh… well… I'm not really… decent."
"Aw, it's ok. I'll close my eyes, and you can get dressed."
"...It's not that simple. But okay."
Floyd would cover his eyes and close them… but he couldn't resist peeking when he heard something scuffle above him and shut the door.
Floyd was plunged into relative darkness as the door was shut, the only light coming from under the crack in the door.
With the singular thin beam of light, the merman could see long, gnarled fingers reaching down towards the floor. Followed by a gaunt, sharply angled face with a maw full of clacking teeth.
He could feel his limbs stiffen and breath hitch as he caught himself staring through the gap in his fingers. What was that?
"No peeking…"
The being would thud gently as they settled on the floor, entirely too gangly for its size in some places… and entirely too solid in others. It would sit crosslegged before using its long, spidery fingers to shove its arms back into its torso, complete with cracking sound. It would pull itself back into itself, bones and tendons and ligaments popping back into place...the entity's neck would snap and twist, as it jammed more of itself into its torso…
And Tusya would stand again.
They would shake themselves off, and walk to the door, where they reached and turned on a wall switch. The room was lit up with some glowing lights on strings, bathing the room in an orange glow.
Tusya seemed just as they had been.
"Ok you can look now."
Floyd would remove his hands from his face, looking around… the room was just as he'd left it, but now it seemed a bit less terrifying now that everything was lit up.
Tusya was stood in jogging pants and a tanktop, rolling their shoulders. "So, you wanted to play?"
"....whoaaaa, frogfishie, what was all that?"
"FLOOOYD. I told ya not to peek!" Tusya would not hesitate to punch them in the arm. "Ugh, but I guess it's better you know. Yeah, I uh. I use a monster form when I'm at home okay? Its a lil more comfortable, when its just me so…"
"You should use it all the time!" Floyd would say, smiling wide. "I bet it'd be really cool. Where were you in here anyway?"
"Ceiling. You startled me so I ran up there…" they would gesture at the ceiling, where there were MORE clawmarks…
"Wow. So you can scale walls?"
"As long as I can find purchase, yeah."
"....Can you show me."
"Heh, okay!"